I Think I've Always Cared for You
by bluegirlalexis
Summary: Todoroki doesn't really have friends, but the more time he spends with Midoriya, the more he opens himself up to people around him. Will Midoriya realize how deep Todoroki's gratitude runs? Will he return Todoroki's feelings? Find out, in "I Think I've Always cared for You". May change ratings as the story progresses.
1. Chapter 1

Ashido sat down on the left of Yaoyorozu's desk, where the girls always gathered, to talk during their small break between classes. Uraraka knelt by the other side, listening intently. Asui knelt next to Uraraka. Hagakure and Jiro casually walked over, to stand by Ashido. Ashido placed a hand by her mouth, and gossiped, in a hushed voice ," I heard that Bakugo and Kirishima are becoming really close. Kirishima even cooked him dinner last night."

"Awwwwww!" Uraraka and Hagakure cooed, in unison. Most of the girl's faces grew pink.

"Isn't that the cutest?" Ashido held her hands together, in front of herself, and looked off in the distance, as if to ponder just how adorable it was.

Todoroki sighed. Yaoyorozu sat next to him in class, and he'd heard just about everything the girls had to talk about… all year long. He was beginning to even look forward to it, and that thought was really depressing to him. He yearned to have camaraderie, not just with some of the other guys, but with anyone. He laid his head on top of his arms and continued to eavesdrop. 'These girls just love to couple everyone off…' he thought.

Iida's arms, flailing as he sped to Midoriya's desk, caught Todoroki's attention. He realized that Sero and Tokoyami were already talking to Midoriya, standing in front of him. When Iida arrived, they all laughed a friendly "hello" to each other. Todoroki needed to place his eyes elsewhere. As he scanned the classroom, he saw that everyone else was seated with a friend. Todoroki's eyes settled on Bakugo and Kirishima. They were going over their English notes. 'At least he didn't hear what the girls were saying about him…' Todoroki sighed again.

"Ooooi! Todoroki Kuuun!" Ashido called. Bringing his gaze back around, to look at the group of girls, Todoroki caught Mineta's look of jealousy. He barely suppressed a chuckle, as his gaze finally settled on Ashido. "Todoroki, is there anyone you like?", she whispered coyly.

He felt like he got punched in the gut, with that surprised question. Todoroki almost swallowed his own tongue. This was not the conversation he wanted. His eyes looked at the ground, and he felt like he was going to vomit. The color slowly drained from his face. "No", he mumbled, unsure if anyone actually heard him.

"Awwww. He's so shy.", Hagakure giggled. All of the girls saw through his weak reply.

"So who is it?" Yaoyorozu asked.

"I don't like anyone." Todoroki turned forward in his seat, too quickly, and promptly tried his best to look uninterested. He hit his elbow on the corner of his desk, and bit his lip to remain cool. His eyebrows knitted together, in concentration and a bit of pain.

"We'll tell you who we like." Jiro offered. Todoroki looked over to see her rub the back of her neck, nervously.

"Yeah!" Ashido added.

"Me too!" Hagakure moved around, to be seen.

The other girls looked away, not ready to share their crush's names.

"Take your seats." Aizawa-sensei slid the class door open harshly, and strode into the room. Todoroki was so thankful that this embarrassing interaction was over with. Everyone, quickly, scurried over to their places. Aizawa took his post, at the front of the classroom, and Todoroki relaxed in his seat. He didn't pay attention, as class started, and worked to quiet the fast beating of his heart.

The lights dimmed, as a projector was turned on, and Todoroki figured now was as good a time as any to look over at his crush. The talk of confessions must have really gotten to him. When he saw Midoriya eagerly his taking notes, his look of determination, almost, made Todoroki want to tell someone the truth. Anyone, if it would get it off his chest. He sighed, and resigned himself to take notes of his own. He stole a few more glances his crush's way throughout the lesson.

Upon one more glance, after he reached the end of a page of notes, Midoriya looked up, and Todoroki quickly looked back down. He, hesitantly, looked up to see if Midoriya was still looking, and he was. Refusing to be a coward, and looking away again, Todoroki held his gaze on Midoriya. The green haired beauty smiled at him, and then went back to writing. 'Looks like nothing is going to get done today…' Todoroki complained, in his mind. A warmth stretched across his cheeks.

—

After their last class finished, Todoroki packed his things as fast as he could. He didn't want any more intimate questions to be asked to him. He was easy to peer pressure. After he finished packing up his bag, he bolted towards the classroom door.

"Todoroki Kun!" The voice was easily recognized as Midoriya's. He followed the dual quirked boy out of the room. As much as Todoroki wanted to stop and talk to his crush, he felt embarrassment burn in his chest. He continued forward, ignoring Midoriya's call. "Todorokiiii…" The call behind him came a little closer. Within a second, Midoriya tapped Todoroki on his shoulder.

"Yes Midoriya Kun?" He decided to pretend he hadn't heard him at first. He stood still, continuing to face away from Midoriya. 'He's too fast…' he thought.

Deku walked around to look Todoroki in the face. He smiled so large that his eyes closed. "Did you need help with Biology? You looked a little distracted."

"Hmmm…" A blush burned across his face. As much as Todoroki wanted to agree, he also didn't want to risk any rumors being spread about them. "I'd have no way to repay you."

"You can spar with me. I need to practice using my quirk with my legs." Midoriya suggested, rubbing his neck nervously.

How could Shoto pass up seeing Midoriya for more time, out of school? He looked so genuine. Todoroki eagerly nodded his head. "That sounds agreeable. Would you like to meet me in front of the dorms in an hour?"

"That sounds perfect." Midoriya waved his good byes, and ran back into the classroom.

Todoroki tried not to melt. He prepared a small list of things to do: he needed permission to use a location to spar in, needed to pack water, and needed to mentally prepare himself for one on one time with his ray of sunshine.


	2. Chapter 2

Midoriya met Todoroki at the Dorms, five minutes before the hour. He, desperately, needed to finish "something", so Todoroki agreed to meet him, to practice, in another half an hour. It gave him more time to read.

They, along with a few other students, were granted permission to use Gym Gamma. Todoroki had arrived too early, and sat down by the Gym entrance. After a little while, he became antsy; he checked a nearby clock, for the third time in a single minute. 'Midoriya should be arriving any minute now…', he thought. Full of nerves, Todoroki looked at each of the students training, until he gazed upon two familiar faces.

Kendo and Tetsutetsu, from class 1-B, were training in a nearby corner. He decided to watch the two, to take his mind off of the time. Kendo was trying to improve her grip strength by squeezing Tetsutetsu, and he was trying to break out of her grip. Todoroki would have thought that Kendo had the upper hand, until he noticed her strain to hold on. It seemed that Tetsutetsu had superior strength, as he pushed through her fingers without too much difficulty. He'd have to inform Midoriya of his findings.

"Todoroki Kun, Sorry, I hope you didn't wait too long."

The dual-quirked student used every inch of his being to not jump. With measured restraint, he turned around to nod a greeting to Midoriya. "I didn't." He reached into his bag. "I brought you water."

"Thank You!" Midoriya grabbed the bottle and beamed. His beautiful eyes peered through Todoroki's composure, for one brief moment, and then shot to an empty corner, opposite from Kendo and Tetsutetsu. Deku reached for Todoroki's hand, and dragged him over to claim the open space. "Is this side of the gym ok?", he asked, upon their arrival.

"Yes. This is perfect." Todoroki let a genuine smile touch his lips. It was small, but there. His, cool, right hand felt faintly warm where Midoriya had held it, and his face felt hot with fervor.

"T-T-T-Todoroki Kun! You're smiling!" Midoriya stuttered out, loudly. His face shone red. He was equally stunned and curious for the reason behind that smile.

Lamely, Todoroki held a hand in front of his face, and seemingly pushed his mouth back into it's regular frown. "Never.", he attempted to joke. It worked; Midoriya laughed and visibly relaxed. The Ice and Flame student took both their bags, and waters, and placed them by the closest wall.

"Let's get started?" Midoriya offered, after a moment of comfortable silence.

With a nod from Todoroki, he sprang forward for the surprise offensive. A kick landed into a man's size worth of ice, where Todoroki's shoulder was, a mere moment previous. Midoriya retracted his leg out of the shield and, with it, brought half of the ice down. Todoroki, quickly, flung four expanding ice bolts towards him. They all, seemingly, missed. Midoriya was about to say, "You don't have to worry about hurting me.", until the sounds of ice spreading alerted him to look behind himself. From the four points behind him, Todoroki was able to, more easily, create a wall of ice. The wall was avalanche-fast, to launch into a wave motion blast. Boulder sized ice would have knocked Midoriya to the ground, had he not used One for All to jump high into the air. Midoriya had almost slipped on the ice with that jump, knocking his knee against the ground, before he catapulted up. 'This is going to be good practice.' He smiled with enthusiasm as he sailed back down, readying his next descending kick attack…

The sparring continued until both of the young men were worn out. Midoriya was down on one knee, with his hands on the ground, breathing heavily. Todoroki stood against the wall, with his hands on his knees and his head bent forward.

"You're so cool, Todoroki Kun!" Midoriya finally looked up and smiled "Your attacks are so precise and measured - and your style is really developing!"

Todoroki wasn't used to compliments, at all. He rubbed the back of his neck, unsure of what to do with being praised for his hard work. "We're all improving. You're doing really well with adapting your fighting style to your legs." At mentioning his legs, Todoroki looked Midoriya over, and saw a small bleeding scab on his knee, by the edge of his shorts. Without hesitation, he walked over and sat in front of him. An iced hand moved over Midoriya's knee, washing and cooling his wound. He held his eyes on his knee.

"T-Todoroki Kun!" Midoriya squeaked, both surprised by the sudden tenderness and strangely embarrassed to have his friend's hand on his leg.

Todoroki's only action was to explain what he was doing as he continued. "…It's what my mother would do, when I got hurt." His eyes remained down.

Midoriya remembered what Todoroki had told him about his family, at the Sports Festival. "Todoroki…" The name rolled off of his lips in a melancholy tone. "Thank You. You're such a good friend."

"So we are friends?" Todoroki asked aloud. He looked into Deku's emerald pools. His expression read that he was being completely serious.

"What? Of course we are! D-Did you not think we were?" Midoriya was a little bothered by the question, until it clicked for him… Todoroki was used to keeping to himself; he hardly talked with anyone. He wasn't used to being close to people; during practices and out of school activities, he'd normally go off by himself. He, more than likely, didn't recognize Midoriya's attempts at becoming close with him.

"I hoped so. I just - I haven't had many." Todoroki ended weakly, disgusted by how pitiful it sounded coming from his mouth. He rose to his feet, and rubbed his shoulder absentmindedly. A momentary scowl took over his expression.

Midoriya snapped back from his thoughts. "I'm your friend!" He sprung up and wrapped his arms around Todoroki in a warm embrace.

What started as a stunned, unreciprocated hug, slowly became a secure, entangled, indulgence. "May I call you Izuku?" Soft curls brushed against his face, from a nod. He nuzzled into them.

Midoriya smiled wide, into his neck and shoulder. "Of course, Todoroki!"

"Please, call me Shoto." These two sentences were all he could muster, while continuing to resist melting. Wisps of smoke began to come off of his left shoulder, and Shoto had to take deep, calming breaths to cool down. He, also, tried to hide taking the deep breaths. The experience was dizzying, and warm, and over too quickly.

Izuku let go to look over at the clock, at the front of Gym Gamma. "We should study soon, if we want to fit that in tonight." He grabbed his water bottle off of the floor, and brushed some of the ice off the bottom. It was really cool how hot Shoto had felt, but how cool he could keep things. "Would you like to study in my dorm, or the common room? Or, even at the Hero Cafe?", the green haired angel suggested.

Shoto hadn't heard him, still wrapped up in their moment.

'Perhaps he wants things more private…' Izuku thought. "We could go to my place, or yours?" He stepped in front of Shoto to get his attention.

The words first hit Shoto's ear as an innuendo, and he quickly turned away to retrieve his bag. 'He's asking about studying!', he had to remind himself, internally. There was no way he could have hid his blushing when he turned around to Izuku, so he settled on keeping his head down. " We can go to mine."

Izuku, also, grabbed his belongings and they both exited the Gym. They made light conversation about the weather and an upcoming test, but Izuku was most excited to talk about a new All Might figure, coming out soon. That conversation turned into Hero Facts, and he was surprised by how much Shoto knew his All Might trivia.

Entering the Dorms, and then, again, walking through the kitchen, Izuku's stomach growled loudly. He grabbed at it, embarrassed.

"Have you eaten yet?" Shoto asked.

The blushy boy covered his pink face. "No."

"That's ok. I'll cook us something." The common room was adjacent to the kitchen. Shoto set his bag down, by the side table in the common room, then came back to wash his hands. Spending all of this time with Izuku was making him more happy than he had been in a long while. He grabbed some of his set-aside broth from the fridge, and began to heat it up, along with boiling some dried rice noodles from the pantry.

"That smells great! Are you cooking something Midoriya?" Kaminari came over from the Bakusquad on the couch (sans Bakugo and Kirishima), drawn by the scent of Miso. Sero blocked everyone and every scent out, to continue to work on his homework.

"Nope. Todoroki Kun is!" Kaminari looked over in hunger and awe. Shoto was chopping green onions, now.

Ashido and Jiro directed their sights to what their oblivious Pikachu was doing. Ashido smiled, knowingly. "Kaminari, come here and tell Jiro that her music, in her headphones, is too loud!" Jiro looked over at Ashido, annoyed, until she saw the intent in her expression. Ashido looked back and forth: from Todoroki and Midoriya, and then back to her a few times. Jiro nodded in confirmation, to participate with Ashido's little lie.

"I'm sure it's not that loud." Kaminari defended Jiro, as he returned to the couch to test them out himself.

Shoto, hearing all of the commotion, looked over to Jiro. She smiled at him, and then winked. He hastily turned back around, to finish chopping. Dread washed over him, but he had to persevere, to feed his hungry crush.

Shoto placed a bowl of soup in front of Izuku, after everything had finished simmering together; he promptly dug in, and "Mmmmm"d. "Shoto! This is delicious."

"Would you believe me, if I said I only know how to make soups?" Shoto basked in the compliment, and walked around to join Izuku at the table.

The young men talked, and enjoyed each other's company in peace, until Iida jogged up to them, animated as ever. "It's time for lights out!" He announced. Both Izuku and Shoto cleaned their dishes, and began walking back to their rooms.

Shoto escorted Izuku to his door, and bowed respectfully. "Goodnight, Izuku… Thank You for everything." He looked up and legitimately smiled. It wasn't a large smile, but it wasn't small this time ,either.

"AH! We didn't study!" Izuku, suddenly, remembered.

"It's alright. If you're free, we can tomorrow?" Shoto held his breath for the answer. This was the closest he'd had to asking to see him again, one on one. He was going to take advantage of this opportunity if it killed him.

"I am! I can't wait!" Izuku's smile could brighten the darkest night. "We'll decide a time tomorrow. Goodnight Shoto!" He bowed back.

With their goodbyes said, Todoroki strolled back to his room, worn out. He was tired from class, sparring, cooking…watching himself around Izuku - but it was all for a good reason, he'd decided. His new mission was to become someone special for Izuku; a true friend, and maybe something more, if he'd permit it.


	3. Chapter 3

During training, an ice wall encircled them both; it's glass-like sparkling was dulled by the green gems in front of Shoto. He pushed Izuku up against the wall, and put a leg in between his, so he couldn't run from their feelings any longer. "Mi - Izuku…" He had almost forgotten that he could call him by his first name now. Izuku thought to look away in embarrassment, but Shoto's heterochromatic eyes ensnared him. The dual quirked hero brought his hands up, from Izuku's hips, to caress and then hold his face.

The brightest smile pulled at Deku's angelic lips. Green hair filled Shoto's vision, as his love placed his face in the crook of his neck. Chu. Warmth seeped into the right side his icy skin. Izuku leaned forwards onto an enticingly hot leg "Oh Shoto…. " Steam rose.

"Todoroki Kuuun!" Midoriya called from some distance away; his voice was so far.

Todoroki slow blinked sleep out of his eyes, and looked around his room. "Huh, where are you?…", he murmured, jarred. His alarm clock read 05:00 AM. He felt bothered and sweaty, and looked under his covers. Realization froze his blood, like the ice buckets had in the Beast's Forest. "Sorry, Izuku, I just woke up…", he called, just urgently enough so it could be heard from the other side of his door.

"It's ok." Todoroki could hear nervous pacing. "I'm sorry, I thought you'd be awake. I was hoping we could study before class, today. But if you're -"

"Of course we can!" Todoroki threw his covers off and ran to change. He switched his, too bright, lantern on with a cringe. Clothes fell out of their folds, as he jerked his drawers, to his dresser, open. The light was still too much. Old Boxers and Blankets were delicately placed in between other clothes, in his dirty hamper. New Shorts were hiked up hastily.

Only a minute passed before he heard,"I-If you'd you'd like, we could study here, first, and then get ready…", through the other side of the door.

The offer was barely out, when Todoroki almost unhinged his door, swinging it open. "Please." He bowed, then lead his crush in. When he looked up, his jaw dropped to the floor. Deku wore a tight form fitting white shirt, and green athletic shorts. His hair was wild. But the cutest things were his slippers ,that had adorable All Might faces on them. He looked like the picture definition of an early morning cuddler.

The ogler showed Izuku to his floor desk. "You get set up. I'll be right back." He rushed to his futon and rolled it up. "Did you want water or anything?"

Deku looked up at the flame and ice hero, seriously, for the first time that morning and stifled a giggle. "Water please.", he answered behind his hand. Grey and Blue eyes narrowed in response to the laugh. "Oh! Don't worry. It's just some dry drool." Even though the observation was supposed to be relieving, it watered his flowering frown. He walked, deliberately, to his bathroom sink, and washed his face. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make fun of you."

"No. No, Izuku. It's ok." Shoto rushed to grab a glass and fill it up with icy water. He knelt next to his study partner, and looked over their material, for class. Semi-awkward silence surrounded them for a moment, before Todoroki glanced up at Deku. Beautiful pink dusted his freckled cheeks. Izuku stared hard at the pages, eyes unmoving, as if he was lost in thought. It must have been intense, for him not to murmur about it. "Is everything ok?"

"Yeah! Yeah.", he rushed out. "I just forgot we had agreed to call each other by our first names." Izuku's blush connected across his nose, and spread to more of his face.

"If it makes you uncomfortable, I won't." The last thing Shoto wanted was to regress to a more formal atmosphere between them.

A smile flashed across his features. "I just didn't expect it; But it made me happy." Green eyes looked over detailed notes and equations. Seemingly burying himself in work, Deku asked, "Shoto… Do you consider me your friend?"

Taken aback, by both the praise and the question, the dual quirked hero took a moment to stop and look over his classmate's expression. He was obviously asking something that had been prevalent, in his thoughts. Shoto weighed his response's importance to their budding intimacy. "Yes." He divulged, "You are the closest friend I've ever had."

Stars lit in Izuku's eyes. "I'm glad. I want us to spend more time together! We should become closer friends!"

Shoto smiled at that. "Ok." He was melting. 'Izuku's so sweet.', rang through his mind. He was stuck between ignorance and bliss. His heart was leading his decisions, but his mind was pulling him back. Doubt kept him from hugging the studious friend before him, as he was unsure of what to do in these situations. Hope propelled him into leaning his tired shoulder against Izuku's.

The two studied an hour and a half, before deciding to branch off, to get ready for school that day. Izuku suddenly remembered the last conversation he'd had with Shoto, the night before, as he passed through the traditional japanese room door. " 'Thank You for everything.' "

Shoto smiled "You are always welcome here. And I'm here for you, any time you need me. Thank YOU." Dark red flooded Deku's face, and Shoto noticed. As an instantaneous reaction, he blushed too.

It took Deku a mesmerizing moment of staring at his friend's smile and blush, before he briskly took off to his room.

Sighing in content, the ice and fire dreamer, closed his door behind him. He got ready without paying any attention to his routine. All the while, his mind swam with thoughts of his crush. He showered, got dressed, packed his school bag, and was ready to go, before he realized he still had a good amount of time before class started. He still had a half an hour, and spent a good third of the time debating on whether or not he should return the favor of seeking Izuku out.

Cowardice, regretfully, won, and he walked to school by himself. Upon arriving in class, Shoto sat in his assigned seat, and got comfortable. He pulled out his book and decided to read before class started.

Iida, Uraraka, and Asui were already chatting in their seats. Ashido, Jiro, Kaminari, and Sero arrived next. When Yaoyorozu arrived, Ashido and Jiro came to stand by her.

"Todoroki Kun, come here." Jiro requested.

Todoroki felt apprehension squeeze his throat shut, so he couldn't answer. 'Do they know? Will they say anything to Izuku? Will they tell the rest of the class?' Anxious thoughts flooded his mind.

Ashido winked. "It's not anything bad."

Distaste for pity fueled his answer, "Ok."

The four students ducked all of their heads close together, so their whispers could be more easily heard. "Do you like Midoriya Kun?" Ashido asked.

'That's it. My life is over.' He internally deflated. Emotion welled up in his chest, to his throat, and wrinkles of worry started eating away at his poker face.

With no answer, Yaoyorozu added, "It's ok Todoroki Kun. We won't say anything."

He took a deep breath. "Is that all you wanted?", he attempted to ask nonchalantly. Each of the girls looked at him and nodded, reassuringly. "I - I want to be better friends with him."

"Is that all?" Ashido asked.

Todoroki looked down, surrendering enough pride to answer, "I may like hi- "

"Oi! Sh- Todoroki Kun!" Izuku came up behind him, and smiled large. "I accidentally took your notes."

Shoto put on the most "we aren't talking about anything, I'm just passing along" face, he could muster. He saw each girl's expressions before he fully turned, to make sure Izuku hadn't heard his confession. Ashido's face shone with a hopeless romantic's smile. Her hands came up to her mouth, to try and hide it. Jiro looked at them both, cooly, and smirked. Yaoyorozu looked at them both, dotingly. Shoto's mask faltered slightly, and he let an embarrassed blush flow to his cheeks. "Oh Thank You."

Izuku let a heartwarming chuckle escape his lips. "Of course!" He looked at the clock in the front of the classroom. "Do you have any plans for lunch?"

Eyes widened, and Shoto rushed out, "No."

Aizawa-sensei opened the door to the classroom, and everyone rushed to their seats. Yaoyorozu, seated next to Todoroki, whispered over to him, "If you need any advice, or someone to talk about it, I'll help." He nodded, in appreciation.

When Izuku got to his seat, he turned around for a moment, and sent a smile back to Shoto. The soon-to-be emotionally drained hero hoped lunch would arrive quickly.


	4. Chapter 4

_**AuthorNote** : Sorry for the long chapter! Hope the fluff will make up for it. Heart!_

* * *

At the end of their 4th period class, Japanese, the students of class 1-A packed up, grouped up, and bolted for lunch. Todoroki, Midoriya, Uraraka, Asui, and Iida lingered, awaiting everyone else to file out first.

Asui and Uraraka both went over to Deku's desk. "Are you ready for lunch, Midoriya Kun?" Asui put her right hand up to her face, as if resting her cheek in her palm. Her tongue hung out to the side, with a grin.

"Almost." Izuku pulled his bag over his shoulder and walked up to Shoto's desk. "Todoroki Kun, will you join us for lunch?" He tilted his head to the side and smiled wide. His eyes closed and it added to the adorable glow around him.

Shoto almost swallowed his own tongue. Izuku was too cute for his own good. He stood pin straight.

"Uwwaaaa! Todoroki Kun is having lunch with us?" Uraraka rushed over, and put her hands on her cheeks in awe.

Shoto nodded. "If I'm not intruding…" He looked down at the ground, and awaited their answers.

"Of course not! I invited you." Izuku reached his hand out, and put it on Shoto's shoulder. He squeezed it reassuringly. The red and white haired young man looked over to Izuku's hand, and let a rose color dust across his nose.

"Please join us!" Iida walked up to the group, and smiled invitingly. He put his hand on Shoto's other shoulder.

"Lunch will be so much more fun with you, Todoroki Kun", Asui croaked.

"So what's your favorite food?", Uraraka asked, already convinced he was coming.

Beginning to feel overwhelmed, Shoto distracted himself with grabbing his school bag off of the back of his chair. "I really like Soba." He hit his spiral, with loose papers stacked atop it, against the surface of his desk to keep everything level , before placing them in his desk.

When he looked back up, everyone stared at him with adoring smiles. Shoto wasn't sure what to do. His classmates were staring at him. His palms began to sweat, and he darted his eyes around, uncomfortable, but not displeased.

Izuku grabbed his hand, to lead him out of the classroom, to the Lunch Rush Cafeteria. " Did you pack your lunch? Or are you getting it here?"

As Midoriya and Todoroki walked out of the classroom, Iida, Asui, and Uraraka followed behind them, closely. "I don't see Todoroki Kun in the cafeteria often." Asui contemplated, aloud.

Uraraka put her index finger to her chin and nodded in agreement. Iida responded, by asking, "Todoroki Kun, do you usually eat outside?"

"I packed my lunch." He answered Izuku, then turned to Iida. "And sometimes; I was going to today. The wind felt good this morning." Shoto allowed his freckled guide to lead him down the hallways of UA, so he could continue to feel him hold his hand.

"That sounds great! I need to get my lunch in the cafeteria; can I meet you by the entrance?" Iida turned from Shoto to the two young women. "Did you bring your lunches Uraraka and Asui?"

"Our lunch is packed." Uraraka turned to Asui and rubbed the back of her neck, nervously. "I just got some new jellies, and I know you like Jelly, so I made us PB&J sandwiches."

"Thank You Ochaco Chan!" Tsuyu jumped up to hug Ochaco from the side. "You're so thoughtful!" Ochaco used her anti-gravity quirk to lighten Tsu, and carry her on her back.

"I still need to get mine too, Iida Kun." Izuku let go of Shoto's hand, and turned to Iida, once they reached the entrance of the cafeteria.

With quick goodbyes, Uraraka, Asui, and Todoroki went to pick up their lunches, while Iida and Midoriya waited in line to received theirs. Asui and Uraraka were the first to arrive at their meeting spot. Todoroki was the next to arrive, and spied them both conversing intimately. He approached slowly, as not to startle them, but as soon as he came into their view, their eyes were locked on him.

"Can we ask you something Todoroki Kun?" Uraraka and Asui both cornered him by the cafeteria entrance.

He knew he was trapped, and he should have been expecting the question, but the boldness still shocked him. Uraraka rose on her tip toes, Asui behind her, and whispered in Todoroki's ear, "Do you like Midoriya Kun?"

In that moment, Shoto was grateful that his container with his soba was well wrapped in the blanket he'd grabbed, as it would have surely spilled everywhere when he dropped it in surprise. He quickly crouched down to pick up his lunch, and avoid the awkward stares. "Doesn't everyone? He's friends with the whole class."

Ochaco, piecing his response and pink visage together, pushed the question. "…I mean romantically. We won't tell anyone." She smiled smugly.

"What if I do?" Shoto's defensive nature kicked in, seeing her over-confident expression.

"Then Ochaco Chan and I want to help." Asui answered. Both of the women smiled at him, and gave him knowing winks.

Realizing he had answered their question inadvertently with his antics, and hearing their wish to help, Shoto let a confused and frustrated sigh slip from his lips. Weighing the pros and cons of their help, he ultimately decided that they knew Izuku better than he did. Any help was welcome, when you didn't know anything about relationships. "Thank You."

Uraraka and Asui jumped up and down, filled with glee.

Both Midoriya and Iida walked up to the group, lunches in hand, and greeted everyone. "So where do you normally sit, Todoroki Kun?", Midoriya inquired.

Shoto lead them around the back of the school, to a shady side under a large tree. The blanket he had wrapped around his lunch was used to lay on the ground. Uraraka and Midoriya, "oooooh"d and "aaahhhhh"d. Iida thanked Todoroki for the consideration. Asui thanked him for his thoughtfulness.

The group sat down and tore into their lunches. No one talked until, at least, half of their lunches were down. Then, their conversations varied from All Might, to which classes they found difficult, to what they enjoyed doing in their time off.

Even though Shoto was nervous about the experience, he hadn't ever enjoyed his classmate's company more than now, during this lunch. He smiled, chuckled, and found similarities between each of the students there.

At the end of lunch, the newly formed Dekusquad left for English class. They had this, and one more class for the day, before they were free for the weekend.

Algebra came to an end, after English, and Midoriya waited by Todoroki's desk, as he packed up for the day. Iida, Uraraka, and Asui joined them.

"Did you have any plans tonight?", Uraraka asked the squad.

"I must study." Iida answered immediately.

"But it's the weekend!", Uraraka complained. "What about you, Tsu Chan?"

"I'm free." Asui put up two of her fingers to give Ochaco a peace sign. Asui and Uraraka looked to Midoriya and Todoroki for their answers.

"I'm, actually, quite tired.", Todoroki began to excuse himself for the evening, only to have Midoriya answer at the same time. "I'm a little sleepy."

"Awwwwww!" Uraraka squeezed her eyes shut. "Then I guess it's just Asui and me!"

"That's ok Ochaco Chan.", Tsu smiled. "We can watch that funny movie together, if you want."

Bidding them a good evening, Uraraka and Asui took off for their evening together. The three young men exited, after the women, and conversed about an English test on the way to the dorms. Once inside the common room, Iida set his school bag by the couch, and began to take out his study material. He'd explained that he wanted to use the space before everyone else gathered there for games and lounging.

Without intending to, Shoto had followed Izuku to his room. When Izuku opened his door, he quickly turned around to ask, "Were you still tired, To -Shoto?" His All Might homage sparkled through the slit in the door behind him.

"Oh," one nervous chuckle escaped the ice and fire student's throat. "I suppose I am. I'll just be heading to my room." He bowed, respectfully, and took flight towards his dorm's direction. He'd actually been hoping to spend special time with just Izuku, but he didn't want his thoughts to be conspicuous.

As soon as Shoto entered his room, he set his bag aside, and unrolled his futon to lay down. Today had been great, but so draining. He let his legs give out, and slammed into his bed. "Shit.", he said to no one in particular. He had forgotten to do laundry. 'It's always when you lay down.'

He got up, grabbed his hamper, and ran downstairs, to the laundry room. Since no one else's clothes were running, he threw his clothes in one washer and his blanket into another one, near by. Everyone always rushed to do their laundry in the morning. 'You think they'd learn.' He shook his head at the thought.

While waiting, Shoto left for the kitchen. He went to the fridge to grab some of his apple juice, and some white rice he'd portioned out. Instead of sitting, he ate standing up, secluded. With one bite, he decided to add some flavor. Nori flakes and sesame were added, and he leaned against the pantry to continue eating by himself.

Ashido, seated by Kirishima, Bakugo, and Kaminari, in the common room, looked over at the sad scene. She knew Kirishima had experience with romance, and looked over to him. "Kiri, how would you help a friend who was having a hard time confessing to someone?"

Kirishima's eyes opened wide in shock, and he blushed. He, quickly, looked back at Bakugo. Bakugo scowled and looked away, arms crossed. "Uuuuh… Well I just - or, I would try to get them alone together. The more time they have alone, the harder it will be to ignore their feelings." Bakugo looked like he was ready to rip something's arms off.

Ashido nodded. She did the first thing that she thought would help, and pulled out her phone. She need Uraraka and Yaoyorozu's opinions. They were the closest girls to Midoriya and Todoroki. If they didn't know how to get the two alone, no one would.

After eating, Shoto went back to the laundry room to throw his clothes and blanket in the dryers. He leaned against the machines and let himself reflect. It had been a little while.

Fatigued, the dual quirked student slid down to sit in front of the dryer. His first thoughts were to try and decide the exact moment he realized his feelings for Izuku were romantic. That one was easy: it was at the Sports Festival. Izuku had put everything on the line just to help him realize his true potential as Hero Shoto. He realized the most important thing he cared about in life was to become the best hero, not by rejecting his father's means, but by using all of his. Izuku had broken through his defensive walls, and changed him, all in the span of less than half an hour.

Next, he decided to trace back his memories to the first moment he knew he was attracted to Izuku. Shoto thought about when he'd challenged him. Yes; he'd been attracted then. Thinking back further grew difficult. Basking in the memories of all the times he'd spent with Izuku, he fell asleep against the warm drying machine.

Zzzzzt. Todoroki's phone vibrated. "Where are you?", it read. Midoriya had sent the message. He'd answer it when he got back to his room. Shoto turned around and realized that the dryers were done. He, groggily, took his fresh clothing and blanket out to head upstairs.

Around the corner, on the floor his room was on, Shoto saw Izuku pacing outside of his door. "Hey."

The angel faced student jumped. "Ah! Shoto Kun, you scared me!" Deku rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, and laughed off his nerves. He suddenly became serious and a determined look crossed his face. "Are you ok?"

"What?" Shoto was still too tired to grasp what he meant.

"Ashido, Yaoyorozu, AND Uraraka all said you needed to talk to me." Izuku walked closer to him, concerned. He put a hand up to grab Shoto's shoulder, but in a sleepy stupor, the fire and ice hero rested his face in Izuku's palm.

"I'm tired. But if you want to talk, we can hang out in my dorm."

Realization dawned on Izuku that Shoto was half-asleep. He couldn't blame him, with the early wake up call he'd given him. The green haired cherub chuckled at sleepy Shoto. 'I've never seen him like this. He's so innocent.', Izuku cooed in his mind.

Shoto shifted his hamper into one arm, and used his newly freed hand to grab Izuku's. He lead him into his room. "Please make yourself comfortable." The drained young man put his hamper down and took out a few articles of clothing to fold.

"I can help you with that."

"No. No. S'ok. You can pull up some videos on my laptop if you want." Shoto's sentences came out with large spaces between them.

Izuku laughed and pulled up Youtube.

"SUGOOOOOI" Opening his history, majority of the videos were about All Might. Izuku set Shoto's laptop on his desk, nearby, and watched a few Silver Age videos as Shoto folded his clothing. He stacked his shirts and pants on the ground, too tired to organize them in his dresser.

When he was finished, Shoto joined the amazed fanboy on his Futon, and leaned against him. "Turn on the one… where All Mi…" the words were lost as the tired young man began to fall asleep against his crush. Soft breaths fell from his lips.

Lost in the warmth flowing into his side, and the heroic deeds of All Might on the screen, Deku became comfortable and, also, fell asleep.

A memory began to emerge from the darkness of Shoto's vision. Sunlight kissed a young man's already tanned skin. He looked so nervous. His tender cheeks were pink. Freckles dotted under his tired eyes. Those eyes were green jewels. He kept licking his lips and shaking his head in a way that looked like he talked to himself. Shoto couldn't give time into watching this small, fragile man, because he needed to focus. It was their first day of school, and he'd just laid eyes on the whelp. It was ridiculous how he couldn't tear his eyes away. Talk about frustrating. A musical laugh escaped from the student. The man in front of him turned to make eye contact with him.

Shoto felt too hot, and shifted awake. He was on his back, in bed, but his blankets weren't there. 'Why am I hot?' He turned to his left, to seek cool pillow, and was instead greeted by soft hair. Like a sudden blow to the chest, he remembered Izuku coming to his room to talk, him folding his laundry, and then watching an All Might video. He, then, remembered his dream. It was the first time he laid eyes on the precious hero in front of him. The thought struck him, that this wasn't just some crush. He'd been attracted to Izuku from the moment he saw him, and he was falling for him with each new time they were together. Quickly.

Overcome with deep seated emotion, instinct drew him in, when the sleeping hero nuzzled into Shoto's cold side, that was now on the bed instead of next to him. The rapidly heating man propped himself up, over Izuku. He leaned down and touched his soft bottom lip, just barely, with his own.

"Shoto?"


	5. Chapter 5

"Shit" Shoto rolled over to his back again. His fight or flight response was edging closer to surfacing with each passing second, after being caught. The, literal, dark room around him became darkening doubt. Ice cold apprehension filled his stomach in a sickening way.

"Shoto?" Izuku repeated from where he was, frozen. Shocked.

With his attention called back to Izuku, something snapped. Izuku's eyes were wide, and he wouldn't look at him. The only readable expression on him was surprise. Rejection coursed through Shoto's being. He couldn't do this. He didn't have friends. He didn't know what to do in these situations. He'd never known a positive relationship to base his friendships off of, much less a romance. With these thoughts whirling inside of him, he got up, and walked out of his room. 'Izuku will run as soon as I'm gone.', he reasoned.

It was dark outside the dorms, and he knew he shouldn't have left past dusk, but he needed to calm down. A walk was his desperate attempt at pulling himself back together. He couldn't break down in front of anyone.

"Katsu, we're gonna get cau-" Both Bakugo and Kirishima came around the building's corner, at the same time Todoroki came upon it. The two lovers were holding hands. Their shirts were undone a few buttons, their hair was wild, and they looked out of breath. All three men stopped walking. No one said anything, at first, taking a moment to assess what was happening.

"Oi! Half and Half Bastard, What are you doing out here after dark?" Flustered, Bakugo let a small burst of explosion off in front of Todoroki's face, to intimidate him. He instantly regretted it. The light off of the explosion illuminated a sad face, with two trails of silent tears.

"Todoroki, are you ok?" Kirishima worriedly cut off any rude remark Bakugo was making. He approached his burdened classmate slowly, and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm fine." Todoroki stepped back. He was so frustrated that hot tears had escaped without him realizing it.

"You're spending too much time with that Deku!" Bakugo tried to joke, for Eijiro's sake, but it came out as an abrasive exclamation and only fueled Todoroki's anxieties. Shoto let a strained "Hn" come out of his throat, as he tried to keep back a response. His resolve was cracking.

"Did something happen with Midoriya?" Kirishima gathered it involved their him, at Todoroki's pained expression. Both he and Bakugo had seen them go to lunch together, and Todoroki's affectionate gazes were completely transparent to them. They'd had much experience with hiding their own looks of doting and love for each other.

Red and White hair fell forward and covered Todoroki's melancholy expression, when he feared they could read his feelings .

"You like him, don't you?" Bakugo eyed him. He could just hear the mocking, and menacingly rose eyebrow.

"N-" Todoroki tore his eyes from the ground, and looked up to Bakugo with embarrassed anger. Looking into Bakugo and Kirishima's unjudgmental eyes, however, he decided he'd be honest with not only them, but himself. "Yes.". Todoroki's admission, much to his surprise, sent a small surge of relief through his chest.

"Katsu…" Kirishima weakly chastised his boyfriend. "Todoroki, it's ok. Most of us _thought_ so, anyways." That was meant to make him feel better.

There was a stark difference in color as Shoto's drained, pale cheeks flooded with embarrassment. He didn't think he'd been that obvious. He asked the first question on his mind, "Did Midoriya know?"

"He's the only one who doesn't." Bakugo rolled his eyes. "You stare at him all the time, like a fool."

"Katsuki! Don't be rude!" Kirishima wagged a finger at his love, in disappointment. "Not everyone _knows_. Katsu and I know, and I think a few girls in our class know for sure; But that's it. The others will couple up anyone who's close." Todoroki sighed in relief.

With a few moments of walking around the campus, and some serious coaxing, Kirishima finally had Todoroki tell him what had happened. He didn't say everything; he only recounted his realization, and what happened in his room. "…He laid there, frozen. I mean, I've never felt anything like this before, myself…And I don't know if he - I just couldn't take it. Being so repulsive to him. So I ran." Todoroki ended. He stopped walking for a moment and reflected, "I haven't said anything of my interest in him up to this point, and then out of reflex, I blink and I'm kissing him. And he's mortified." He looked at a nearby tree, sullenly.

Kirishima, trying to withhold his knowledge on Midoriya's feelings, carefully asked, "You care for him, though, don't you? You need to talk about what happened. Ultimately, even if he didn't like it, you'd still want to make it right, and be friends. Right?"

"Of course. I just want him to be happy", Todoroki answered, decidedly. He had vowed, to himself, to be special to Izuku even if they were just friends. That was his goal.

"So manly!" Kirishima smiled asked for Todoroki's phone and put his number in the contacts. Bakugo didn't look happy about it, but he didn't complain. "If you need our help, you can message us for any advice!"

Bakugo made his presence known, after having been quiet for the whole conversation. He looked deathly serious."He wasn't mortified. And I think you need to talk to him, now." The explosive man looked to Kirishima, for support with his advice. "What if he's still there, and you're leaving him confused or scared?"

Panicked adrenaline sent Shoto flying to sneak back into the dorms building. The two lovers followed behind him, with gusto. The front door creaked, and their tip-toeing could scarcely be heard in the common room, with all the other sounds. Their heartbeats and laborious breathing started loud, but were drowned out by a student cursing in the distance.

T.V flickering lights showed the silhouettes of a few students awake, on the couch in the common room. "Where were you guys?", Kaminari turned around and called. The electric bro waved the group over. A video game car exploded in the background, and Sero cheered. While Bakugo and Kirishima joined their squad to hang out, Todoroki ran upstairs. The first thing he needed to do was apologize: for his abrupt departure and for his unwanted kiss.

Shoto went to his room, first. He threw open his door to check if Izuku had, indeed, stayed. A quick look around yielded no young man, but to his left, on his floor desk, there was a hastily-written note. The tall student took large strides to the paper and read aloud "We'll talk tomorrow".

Now, all there was to do was wait. He laid down and tried to keep his eyes closed, but sleep refused to visit him. Shoto was glad he'd napped earlier, because he knew sleep wouldn't come to him. When he couldn't stand opening his eyes to his unchanging alarm clock any longer, he read, stretched, and cleaned. He thought through the many directions his talk tomorrow could take. He convinced himself that whatever happened, it was to make Izuku more comfortable and happy. He didn't want to linger on the what-ifs. He played with every brain teaser in his room. He wrote.

Hours of distractions only began to vex Shoto, so he dressed for a run. It was something he could easily do to turn his brain off. He'd run himself numb, then head back to the dorms for a nutritious breakfast.

Outside the dorms, increasing wind pulled at Shoto's body, with his increasing speed. 'No quirks', he reminded himself. The dual quirked student's legs started to feel jiggly, and he wanted to slide down an ice trail, but it was a necessary evil to clear his mind. A full lap around the campus has his hair sticking to his face. He needed to slow down. He sped up again. Reaching the other end of the campus for the second time, Shoto decided it was a good time to head back. His hand grasped a nearby tree for momentary support.

After his strenuous morning, Shoto took time to appreciate all the plants and trees adorning the path back to the living quarters. The sun slowly rose and pierced between the large letters "UA", at the front of the school. "Plus Ultra", pushed its way past his lips. He pumped himself up, to run the rest of the way back to the kitchen, at home.

Uraraka, Asui, Iida, and Midoriya were all sitting at the large kitchen table eating breakfast. Todoroki struggled to make it to the fridge, to grab a bottle of water. From the dark kitchen, he noticed each student still in their casual, sleeping wear. Soft light from a nearby kitchen window showed Midoriya's hair was unruly, and he looked restless. Todoroki watched everyone for a moment from the kitchen, admiring their closeness. His eyes kept getting pulled back to the man who stole his heart. He swallowed his water loudly.

Asui was the first to notice the sweat drenched hero's presence. "Todoroki Kun! There you are. We knocked on your door but you didn't answer. You look exhausted."

Todoroki leaned against the counter, and answered between slowing breaths, "- Was out for a run." The tired student saw Iida and Uraraka look up and smile.

Izuku, who was playing with his food up 'til that point, looked up in surprise, then confusion, and then smiled. "We made french toast, if you want some." It was so like him to be nothing but kind. With the episode last night, Shoto wouldn't have held it against him, if he'd decided not to talk to him ever again. Izuku held Shoto's eyes for a moment longer than necessary, and quickly looked back to his food; his face grew crimson.

"I'd love that." Shoto bowed, respectfully. Uraraka and Asui looked at him, and covertly gave him thumbs up.

"Not like that, you don't." Dad-like Iida shook his finger mechanically at Todoroki. "Wash up, and then you can join us."

"We, actually, have plans in a little bit." Uraraka grinned, and Asui nodded in agreement. "But we'll see you for lunch, if you'd like?" Asui started texting rapidly on her phone; Iida's phone dinged. Midoriya was still playing with his food, not paying attention to anything in his surroundings.

"I, also, have plans. " Iida announced with urgency. He looked to Midoriya. "But you will wait for Todoroki, right Midoriya Kun?"

Izuku looked up from from his half eaten breakfast. "Huh? Yeah! Yes. Of course." He smiled widely, but everyone could tell he was distracted.

"Then I'll return shortly." Todoroki bowed. With new found energy, he quickly walked to his room, disrobed, and showered the fastest and most methodically he had in his whole life.

Shoto returned in record time. He had dressed down for breakfast, with a towel draped around his shoulders to keep off the water dripping from his hair. "Sorry for the wait."

Izuku startled at the sudden scrape of the chair across from him. Shoto sat directly his opposite. "Oh." The words finally registered with him. "You were, actually, very quick." His eyes looked Shoto up and down, settling on his hands clasped in front of him.

"Shoto…" Izuku's scarred hands grabbed the fire and ice hero's calloused hands, in front of him. "… I think I'm ready to talk, if you are."


	6. Chapter 6

With a boost of confidence from Izuku's warm hands on his own, Shoto nodded in agreement. "I'm ready." His eyes bore into his counterparts, with complete sincerity.

No one was in the kitchen, nor common room. They were alone, for the most part. Izuku nervously looked around before he sighed. "I have to ask you: Did you mean it? The…uh… you know."

He'd expected 'Why?' or 'I don't feel that way about you', but he supposed this was Izuku asking if he had feelings for him. He was expecting this later in the discussion, after he'd apologized. Fear gripped at his heart. The possibility of a second rejection, in less than a day, weighed heavily on his mind.

'Would it count as one or two?', his mind tried to distract itself. Shoto put his iced palm to his cheek, to bring himself back, and focus. He had to be truthful and brave. His right hand fell to the table, as he hoisted himself up from his seat. "Yes."

Izuku's hands slipped back across the table, to himself, then under the table. His mouth fell open, and then closed, several times. His bright green eyes were wide. Crimson flooded his face, as he looked to his left, away from the confessor in front of him.

"Izuku, I like you." Shoto could hear his breathing increase, as he mentally prepared himself for the imminent doom. His hands began to shake, where they gripped the table. His stomach squeezed and scrunched up; he couldn't eat french toast now if he tried. If this silence drew out any farther, he felt like he'd pass out from the nerve-wracking wait. To defuse the tense air, he rambled, "I apologize for kissing you while you slept. I was half asleep so I didn't realize I… It's not something I would ever do, against someone's wishes, and -"

Izuku put his hand up to stop Shoto's speech. "I like you too.", he rushed out. He looked up to Shoto's shocked gray and blue eyes. "And I didn't not want it." He looked down at his hands that he'd brought back to the tabletop. "I'm sorry I froze last night. You're just always so composed, so I just assumed…You're always so cool and collected. And way out of my lea- And I thought… I never would have thought you liked me…" He lost his confidence to continue.

"I don't feel 'cool and collected' around you, at all. You make me feel nervous, like my heart's going to beat out of my chest", the exhausted student observed of himself. Shoto looked into Izuku's worried eyes, and continued,"I've never felt this way for anyone before."

After a brief lull of conversation, and deep thinking, Shoto continued his apology. "I'm sorry for running away… I don't want you to think it was you. I was scared that what I did upset you. I thought I'd ruined our friendship." He sighed. "I'm unbelievably happy right now. That you like me." He blushed.

Izuku felt like he was going to burst into tears with all of the emotion consuming him. "You really like me?" A tear slipped out of his perfect green eye, as he asked his question with disbelief.

"Yes." Shoto let a genuine smile touch his features; it showed he was relieved, ecstatic, and nervous, all the minuet twitches. His smile touched his eyes and brow.

Never had Izuku seen such a beautiful picture before him. He started to cry. "I'm sorry. I know heroes don't cry." He rubbed his eyes aggressively and they turned red.

Shoto walked around the table and pulled his Izuku into a comforting embrace."Heroes cry sometimes", he offered.

"I was scared too", Izuku suddenly sobbed softly into Shoto's shoulder. "-that I messed up. I talked to the Ochaco Chan, and she said I might have accidentally hurt you, when I froze last night. And I didn't think that…But you do like me, and I scared you. I'm so sorry."

"I'm not scared now; You didn't do anything wrong. Everything is ok now." He ran his long fingers through the crying student's hair, to calm him.

The effects of sleep deprivation hit Izuku hard, as he continued to softly cry into Shoto. He cried for a few minutes more until he let exhaustion consume him.

With great care, Shoto carried his, well he wasn't sure what to call him right now, upstairs. He took him to his dorm, and had Izuku wake up just enough to open the door, to take him inside. The love-struck man tucked his sleeping hero into his All Might covers, and kissed his forehead reverently. Too tired to walk down the hall to his own room, Shoto sat down, with his back against Izuku's bed. After a moment of trying to get a grasp on what had just happened, he fell asleep contently. A smile was becoming a permanent fixture on his face, around his Izuku. His Izuku.

KNOCK! KNOCK! With two loud knocks at the door, Shoto jumped to his feet, and automatically felt disoriented. He instantly recognized the All Might room he' fallen asleep in, with figures and posters adorning every nook and cranny.

"Midoriya Kun, have you seen Todoroki Kun? He wasn't in his room." Asui croaked through the door.

Izuku woke up slowly, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, then jumped as soon as Shoto came into his view. He grabbed his pillow, and hid behind it with a dark blush filling his face. He let out a smothered yell in his pillow.

"Midoriya Kun, are you ok?" Uraraka called from behind his door.

"Yeah!" He answered too quickly. "Yes. I was taking a nap. I'm sorry."

Shoto, unsure what to do, awkwardly walked over to the wall opposite of Izuku.

"That's ok. We'll meet you down in the common room for dinner. Just let us know if you see Todoroki Kun?" Asui asked.

"I will." Two sets of footsteps could be heard, leaving the door. Izuku had his hands over his mouth, as they left, as if the dependency of him keeping his cool rested on his ability to physically hold in his breath. "Shoto, how did I get upstairs? What was the last thing that happened before I fell asleep?"

He could hardly believed it, himself; Shoto rose his eyebrow and let a tender smirk touch his lips, before explaining their morning. Izuku let his eyes glaze over dreamily from Shoto's expression, then listened intently. He had a feeling that Shoto left the more awkward moments out, during his pauses in the story.

Mustering up the courage, Izuku wanted to ask a question that would get straight to the point. "So what do we do now?"

"I hadn't planned to even confess to you." The hot and cold young man walked over to his disheveled crush, and took his hand in his own. "I know what I want." Maintaining eye contact, he brought Izuku's scarred hand to his lips, and kissed the back of it carefully.

Insanely hot blood welled in the green haired young man's cheeks. "I want that too." He couldn't look Shoto in his gray and blue eyes, from embarrassment. "Is it ok if we take it slow, though? I've never told anyone I liked them before"

It took no thought for Shoto to agree to anything Izuku suggested for them. "As long as I can be with you.", he answered straight faced. "…It's for the better, anyways…"

"For the better?" Izuku asked, conflicted.

"So I can romance you." Shoto tried his hardest at a wink, and closed both eyes firmly. His forced husky voice didn't help the comical moment, either.

Izuku couldn't hold back a hearty laugh. "You're so cute.", he admitted freely.

It was going to take the dual quirked student a long time to accept his date's compliments; Much more time to not blush insanely at them.


	7. Chapter 7

"Do you want to eat dinner with everyone?" Izuku asked, bravely reaching one hand towards Shoto, from his bed. He ran his other hand through his hair, to get a few bed-head tangles out. And to subtly quell his nerves, with a rub to his neck.

Shoto nodded and smiled, lacing each of his long fingers in between Izuku's. Izuku reached, with his free hand, for his phone. He texted their group chat: 'OTW to the Common Room.' Shoto began to lead Izuku, from his mattress, to the door. He stopped just before opening it. "Do you want to tell anyone yet?", he asked, facing away from his sleepy love.

Izuku looked down at their hands. He wanted to think through it, like Shoto would, before answering, but his heart wanted to freely share the news with everyone. 'Take it slow', he reminded himself. "Do you want to?"

"I think it would be wise to not overshare.", Shoto spoke his thoughts aloud. "If you're comfortable with it, we can tell our friends. Maybe confirm it if someone asks?", he suggested.

"That's perfect!" Izuku squeezed Shoto's hand, reassuringly.

Hearing that, Shoto smiled contentedly and led him out of the door, to join their friends. "I really like holding your hand."

Izuku whimpered, and blushed the hue of pink carnations. He brought his other hand up to cover his cheeks. "I like it too." He blabbered in a voice only he and Shoto could hear, from behind his hand. "Your hands are soft on the top, but your finger tips are blistered. And your palms. It's probably from training so much, right? But this hand feels warm. Does your other hand feel cold? Is it, also, rough? Not a bad rough… I like it.", he ended, when he realized he was mumbling again.

Shoto started at him, both embarrassed and impressed by his observations. His hands grew incredibly sweaty, with his left hand emanating steam. He let go at the bottom of the staircase, when Izuku's hand started to burn a bit. Shoto's smiled soured, and he looked to the floor. Izuku chuckled, "I'm nervous too."

Shoto joined in the small laugh, at their awkwardness; it was unavoidable. "Thank You." He stopped, pulled up the hand he had injured at the Sports Festival in his cool hand, and kissed the back of it quickly. "For your understanding." Izuku moved the hands covering his red cheeks, to cover his eyes.

From the common room, heading towards the kitchen, they saw Asui, Iida, and Uraraka chatting in hushed voices amongst each other. It looked like they were kicked to the kitchen table, with other students sprawled out on the couch. The squad was all crowded on one side. Uraraka had her hands up to her mouth, shielding what she said into Asui's ear, and then Iida's. They sent concerned looks to each other.

"You don't think they got in a fight, do you?", both Shoto and Izuku listened to Iida ask the girls.

"Ah. Todoroki Kun. Midoriya Kun. It's so good to see you.", Uraraka alerted the other two that their subjects of conversation were there. She grinned sincerely, and placed her hand over her heart. "We were worried, when we hadn't heard from either of you."

"Oh, sorry about that. We fell asleep." Izuku rubbed the back of his neck, and joined the table. Shoto, silently, joined beside him.

Uraraka's eyes grew wide, and it looked like she was about to spit her water out. "We?", she exclaimed. Asui's eyes lit up, beside her. Iida looked confused. Uraraka gave Izuku a smirk and wiggled her eyebrows. Asui gave Uraraka a silent nod of disappointment for her teasing.

"Well I'm glad you both are joining us." Iida smiled widely. His hands straightened, and he used his full arms to gesture towards the doors. "Shall we grab some food? If we leave now, we may make it back in time for a small game. We must remember to head upstairs early, with school beginning again tomorrow." Iida led the students out of the dorm building, and towards the front gate.

The group blended in with a small mass of general studies students and migrated right outside of UA, to a few street carts. They grabbed some different foods to share on the way back to their dorms. Iida kindly let everyone try a bit of his Meat Skewer.

"Tsu Chan, did you want to try one of my Takoyaki?" Uraraka turned and smiled at Asui, on the walk back.

Asui blushed, and looked down at her food. "Ok."

Uraraka thought about it, and realized it'd be an indirect kiss. She was excited, and then inspired to help Izuku and Shoto. "Here you go." She put the stick in front of Asui to take a bite from. Tsk Chan did so, softly, and Ochaco gulped. Hastily, she turned to Midoriya, and whispered in his ear, "Oi. Todoroki Kun keeps looking at you. You should feed him a piece of your Takoyaki. It'd be almost like a kiss." She pulled back from his ear and winked at him.

Izuku used his free hand to hide his face for a moment, before standing up straight. He sucked in a large breath, and walked closer, next to his fresh man. "Shoto, would you like to try some of my food?"

Asui and Uraraka looked at each other, in surprise, hearing Midoriya use Todoroki's first name.

Shoto turned to his side quickly, and stopped walking. "Uh, sure. That's- that would be nice", he stumbled over his words. Izuku was calling him by his first name; he was pretty much announcing their relationship to their friends. It was like a dream.

As Izuku slowly brought the skewer to his mouth, Shoto looked him intensely in his eyes as he took a piece.'That was a mistake', he scolded himself. The darker color that flooded Izuku's eyes, as he stared him down, was making his heart beat erratically.

To break the intensity, Shoto looked to their other friends. Asui quickly looked away as they made eye contact, her cheeks a weird blotchy red. Uraraka looked like she was soaking everything in, her hands dreamily coming up to cup her face. Iida smiled, as everything clicked in his mind. He brought his pace up to match his dual quirked friend's. "I didn't realize you two were an item. Congratulations."

With the most hopeful look he could muster, Izuku's bright green eyes looked up to Shoto. He was pleading for him to say the words. Shoto sighed, smiled, and his eyebrows strained together. "We, uh… it's very recent. We haven't told anyone yet. We aren't going to tell many people, either.", he whispered.

Uraraka joyously hummed with happy noises at the admission. Her and Asui hugged each other and began jumping around. "Awwwwwwww!", they beamed in unison.

"Finally!" Uraraka began to float.

"Congratulations!" Asui giggled. She hung onto Uraraka's leg, until her anti-gravity was released. Both of the girls encircled Midoriya and Todoroki in a hug.

Feeling loved and support, Izuku cried silent, happy tears. Iida joined the group-hug. Shoto had never truly felt supported by his peers before, never like this. He felt enormously grateful, and broke into a small smile.

"Uwaaah!" Uraraka cooed. Izuku turned in everyone's arms to hug Todoroki.

Everyone quickly jumped back, as Todoroki began to steam. "S-Sorry.", he forced out, quietly. The friends just smiled and put hands on his shoulders and arms, comfortingly.

The walk back picked up again, with a barrage of questions Izuku's way. Each was asked more quietly, as they came into contact with more students on the campus. Everyone agreed to give the flustered Todoroki a few moments to breathe easy. Questions were asked and answered immediately, until a thought provoking one caught Izuku off guard. "How long have you liked Todoroki Kun?" Shoto wasn't really paying attention, until this question hit his ears.

"For a while", he answered vaguely. Izuku laughed it off, as the group entered the main doors. Entering the common room, envious eyes looked at empty food containers, and aromatic remnants of breading.

"Ahhh! No fair! We want Okonomiyaki!" Kirishima called from the kitchen table. He was seated with Bakugo, Kaminari, and Sero. The group that had left for dinner, joined the table to finish up any leftovers.

"Sorry Kirishima Kun." Midoriya closed his eyes and frowned in apology.

"You don't need that. I'm cooking tonight!" Bakugo growled, face contorted in jealousy. Sero made a joke to Kaminari, under his breath, and Bakugo furiously blasted a small explosion in front of them.

"I'm going to retire for the evening." Shoto tried to excuse himself.

"I- I'll join Sh- Todoroki Kun. Do you mind?" Midoriya looked over to Asui, Iida, and Uraraka.

"That's fine. We'll have fun down here. You guys go on." Iida waved.

As both Shoto and Izuku walked through the common room, to head upstairs, they could hear the groups coming together to play Go and Jinsei Game.

At the top of the stairs, when he was sure no one was around, Shoto grabbed Izuku's hand.

"Shoto." A surge of pleasure zapped through his body, like electricity, at hearing his name. It was like he could understand what Izuku was asking him, without it being said aloud. The same tense energy, from earlier, returned.

"Would you like to go to my room?" Shoto offered. "We can do whatever you'd like. We can study, or watch a movie, or play a game…"

Izuku nodded. "A Movie sounds nice."

They entered Shoto's room, and quickly set his futon up as a couch. He slid a foreign film in, that he'd seen too many times to pay attention to.

"Are you really ok with this?" Shoto had to ask. He sat down and got comfortable on his mattress. "I mean, dating me? We still have so much to learn about each other. And I know I'm not the most energetic. And I -"

"Shoto." Izuku interrupted. His eyes were half lidded, as he sat down next to his date's cool right side. With a tender, trembling, grip, he turned Shoto's startled gaze to his determined one. "Yes." Though his voice seemed confident, his eyes looked scared.

Comprehending where it was going, Shoto closed the gap between them. He was past the fear of kissing his hero. He placed a rose petal soft kiss on Izuku's wanton looking lips. When Izuku didn't respond after a moment, Shoto opened the eyes he hadn't realized he'd closed, and saw they were scrunched shut. He was just nervous.

Heat seeped into Shoto's hands, as he brought them up to tilt Izuku's head up. He hoped it'd relax any tense muscles. The dual quirked man left a trail of, not so innocent, kisses from the corner of Izuku's mouth, down his neck, and back up towards his ear lobe. A moan made it's way from Izuku's throat to Shoto's hot pulse. "I'm nervous too.", he mimicked Izuku from earlier.

Freckled cheeks rose in a relaxed grin. To peel himself off from the wall he'd melted against, Izuku placed his hands down for support. He placed one on the mattress, but the other hand accidentally fell to Shoto's shorts. Above his thighs.

"I -I - I'm so…", Izuku choked out. Sweat began seeping from his pores. Under his hand suddenly felt cold, before he realized his hand was still there. And what was happening. He retracted it speedily.

"It's ok." Shoto tried to laugh it off. He leaned forward to hide his aching, now cold, loins. "It was a little fast, right?"

'I'm going to regret saying that.' Izuku realized. He wanted nothing more than to kiss his boyfriend, and continue feeling that low burn in his core. "Can I try again?"

Shoto leaned back up, and looked to his Izuku, shocked. "Please." he bit his bottom lip in anticipation. The electric feeling was back.

Enthusiastically, Izuku leaned back over Shoto, straddled his lap, and parted his lips. He was done for, now. The impassioned young man kissed him, and it was unlike any of his dreams. The warm pressure of his lips was sexy as hell. Shoto hadn't expect Izuku's hot tongue to join, but when it did, he couldn't resist running his own along it's smooth surface.

All too soon, Izuku broke away to breathe. What felt like seconds had been almost twenty minutes, he confirmed, as his eyes flew past his clock. He looked to the movie, and saw the couple was kissing.

"Do you want to spend the night here?" He couldn't help himself, even though he was asking for trouble.

The brave Deku bit his lip, and looked to the door. "We should go to bed soon, then. So we have more time to get ready tomorrow morning."

Shoto rubbed the back of his neck. "You're right." He pulled back, reluctantly. 'Too fast.', he reminded himself.

Izuku laid down, and pulled his boyfriend down to join him. He gave him a chaste kiss, on the nose. "Tomorrow."

Neither of them could wait for the next day.

* * *

AN: Sorry for sticking so long on this day, it's just important and special! Hope you enjoy! Long Chapter ;p


	8. Chapter 8

Shoto woke up first; his eyes were closed but he felt a warm face on his chilled neck. His eyes slowly opened and through his red and white lashes he could see the glow, on his walls, from a phone's screen light. A calming piano alarm played a concerto. Curiously, the dual quirked man reached for Izuku's phone. The alarm read "Check on Shoto." He smiled weakly. 'He was worried about me.' A light chuckle escaped his throat. With a warming arm, he pulled Izuku in closer to him.

"G- Good Morning." The smaller young man had finally awaken. He shivered in Shoto's arms.

"Good Morning. Are you cold?" Shoto brought his chest temperature up.

Izuku was silent for a few moments, and then answered. "N-No. I just… I don't know what to do. Do I…", the end of his sentence hung in the air. He brought his lips together and slowly rose them to Shoto's neck.

"Are you uncomfortable?", he assumed.

"Sho- No. That's not what I meant." Izuku laughed in shameful embarrassment. "I-I've never had a boyfriend before. Kacchan says him and Kiri do 'things' in mornings when they wake up, together, and…"

"You don't have to do anything, if you don't want to. We can just lay together like this." Shoto led Izuku's head under his chin, and ran his fingertips, softly, from his hairline to his chin.

"But I want to kiss you." he murmured in Shoto's chest.

Izuku's words and actions suddenly became crystal clear: his enthusiasm the night before, the nervous trembling, the uncertain look in his eyes. 'Bakugo bragged to him about all the physical parts of his relationship.' He wasn't experienced, and he wasn't ready for sex, but he had urges too. "Oh." Shoto wrapped his arms around Izuku's waist, and rolled the both of them over until he was laying on his back. He wanted Izuku to make his own pace, so he placed both of his hands behind his head. "Go ahead." His voice was husky.

"Oh." On top of his fiery love, Izuku hesitantly sat forward. He placed his hands on Shoto's chest for balance. Feeling uneven breathing, and strong muscles under his hands, Izuku looked up towards where Shoto's face would be, for relief from the intense moment.

Zzzzzzzzt. Zzzzzzzt. The phone's screen brought light to the room, again. Izuku realized he had been looking at Shoto's lips, in the dim room. He blinked his gaze to Shoto's eyes, and the Blue and Gray stars were half lidded, roving over Izuku's body. As soon as their eyes met, Izuku propped himself over Shoto, and kissed him. Need drove both of their tongues into a languid dance. Heat, unspoken feelings, and hormones were at the center of their kisses. Izuku sat up briefly, after some time, to take both of Shoto's arms out from under him. Hungrily, he came back for another kiss.

Now with permission, Shoto's hands wandered down Izuku's shoulders to his torso. He was tempted to grab his boyfriend's toned ass, but decided against it. He didn't want to rush this. Instead, he ran his long, rough, fingers through Izuku's, gorgeous, green curls. His locks felt like angel feathers. Shoto coaxed mewls from Izuku's sensual throat, with light grazes of his nails down Izuku's back.

Without meaning to, Izuku lightly bit down on Shoto's lower lip, pulling back for air. Shoto groaned deep in his throat. He was so hard.

Zzzzzzzzt. Zzzzzzzt. "Shit." Shoto let a single dark laugh out. An All Might fan song began play from his phone alarm.

"Is that yours?" Izuku sat up excitedly, and let a musical laugh float from him. He fell forward, full force, and hugged Shoto. "I can't believe that's your alarm!" Shoto let the weight crush him, and let out a loud "Oof!"

"Yeah." Shoto blushed, but did nothing to hide it. Knowing how late it was, he begrudgingly told Izuku, "I don't want to leave, but we need to get ready for class."

Izuku slowly sat up, easing off of an ice cold lap. "Me either. Will you wait for me, outside my dorm? Walk with me to class?" Izuku looked up, hopeful.

"Of Course." Shoto smiled wide.

Both of the men swiftly got ready, and it was no time before Shoto was down, in front of Izuku's door. Knock! Knock! Being close to Mineta and Aoyama's rooms, Shoto called cautiously, "Midoriya Kun, it's me."

Without a moment of hesitation, Izuku burst from his room, bag in hand, and a smile so large that his eyes closed. "Let's get going, Todoroki Kun!" he winked, and bumped his wrist against Shoto's, playfully.

Shoto almost melted into the touch. He smiled large enough that his beautiful teeth showed, but brought up the back of his hand to cover it. Izuku stared at him, wonderstruck, all the way to the common room.

"Todoroki Kun!" Kirishima ran up to the two of them, with Bakugo close in tow. He lowered his voice, "Did you ever have that talk?" His eyes went to Izuku, and back.

Shoto looked to Izuku, who was eyeing him suspiciously, and then back to his classmates. He blushed heavily, and looked away from the small group. "Yes."

"And? Don't fucking leave us waiting, half and half." Bakugo chimed in, obviously more invested than he wanted to let on.

He wasn't sure how to phrase it without arousing suspicion from the other students around them. Shoto settled on, "It went better than I could have ever expected." He smiled, dreamily, at the floor.

"Yes!" Kirishima cheered.

"Fucking finally." Bakugo looked irritated, but relieved.

"Oh. Oooooh." Izuku realized what they were asking. And realized that Kirishima and Bakugo had known about Shoto's feelings, before he'd told them to him. The freckled hero grinned, flattered.

"We need to get to class." Shoto broke off the conversation. Hyper analyzing the situation, Shoto retracted the hand he began to unconsciously move towards Izuku's. They bumped wrists and blushed, abashed.

Kirishima was tickled pink, and sighed happily at their innocence. "Don't get any ideas shitty hair." Bakugo blushed, and grabbed Kirishima's hand.

As Class 1-A arrived to their homeroom, they grouped around their friends, and chatted before class. Izuku followed Shoto to his desk. "How long has Kirishima Kun know? And Kacchan?", he whispered. Shoto sat in his chair, and Izuku sat on the edge of his desk. "Not that I wouldn't want them to know. I was going to ask to tell them about us, anyways. I've just never seen any of you talk to each other. Well, not outside of class or training. But it makes sense you'd talk to Kirishima. He's so easy to talk to. But for Bakugo…well I guess he challenges you often. Rivalry is friendship to him. Hmmm…sorry. I'm rambling again, aren't I?"

"Don't be sorry. I want to hear every word you have to say. I love hearing your observations." Shoto looked from his hands, into Izuku's eyes. They stared at each other, lips slightly agape, until Yaoyorozu coughed, next to them. Both Izuku and Shoto looked to her, and noticed the few girls gathered around her were also watching them. Asui, Uraraka, Jiro, Ashido, and Yaoyorozu quickly shifted where they were looking, to different directions, as if they weren't just watching their classmates ogle each other.

Aizawa Sensei walked into the classroom, and announced, "Get in your seats. Your first class is about to start."

* * *

After Japanese, History, and Health, they were in World History; Lunch was less than ten minutes away. All of the students were restless, and that didn't exclude Todoroki and Midoriya. Between their flirting glances, brief grins to each other between subjects, and eavesdropping on the whisperings of their neighboring classmates, they were itching to get up, and move.

Jiro and Ashido, independently, sent Izuku wicked smirks. Yaoyorozu passed Shoto a note. Her uneasy hands almost dropped it, but he caught it just before it hit the floor. He opened the paper up, to beautiful cursive. 'Todoroki Kun, I don't mean to be invasive, but have you and Izuku confessed your feeling for one another?'

He wrote back, 'Why?'

She wasn't fazed by his single worded responses any longer, and laughed into her hand. More than likely, he was adorably naive to his actions. 'The way you both were staring at each other. It was like you were peering into each other's hearts; it was beautiful', she responded.

Reading the note, Shoto's eyes widened and he blushed. He brought a cold hand up to his face and left a residual layer of frost, to cool down. He continued to cover his face with his right hand, and haphazardly wrote back with his left, "Yes. Don't tell anyone."

Yaoyorozu read the note and brought her hands up to her cheeks. She looked over to him, and gave him a reassuring look. Momo held out her pinky, not expecting Shoto to shake it, but to silently show that she promised secrecy.

Shoto looked forward, afraid the teacher would see them. Sensei was writing on the board, so the coast was clear. On his look back to his book, he spied Izuku looking at him again. Becoming self conscious of other onlookers, Shoto scanned the class. To his horror, Asui and Uraraka were watching his interaction with Yaoyorozu, in amusement. Uraraka exaggeratedly winked. Asui brought one hand to stifle a giggle.

Finally, the Sensei announced the end of class, and all of the students arose out of their seats in a frenzy. Yaoyorozu bowed towards Shoto, and took her leave. She joined Jiro, to go to lunch. Asui, Uraraka, and Iida gathered around Izuku's desk.

Uraraka crouched down. She slowly rose her head up over the desk, eyebrows wiggling, and with a large toothy grinned stretched across her face. "Did you guys want to eat lunch alone, or did you mind if we all ate together?"

Of his own accord, Shoto joined the group. "We could eat outside, again, if no one minds.", he offered. The squad nodded, one by one, in agreement. Everyone was all smiles and sunshine.

Shoto hoped lunch was going to be as great as the morning was, but he couldn't have been more incorrect.


	9. Chapter 9

Everyone stood in line at the Lunch Rush Cafe. Though it was a negligible wait, Izuku enjoyed lounging against the wall between Shoto and Iida. They were debating something about Home Economics, but Izuku just thought it was cute that Shoto wanted to learn more recipes. 'He looked so cool cooking!'

"What do you think we'll make today?", Izuku finally joined in.

"I'm not sure. We have not moved onto the stove yet, so I am eager to learn that." Iida moved his hands to show a box shape, representing the oven-stove top. "Shoto?"

Shoto brought his hand to his jaw, thoughtfully. "I'd like to learn -", he began to reply.

"YOOOOOOO. TODOROKI SAN, WE NEED TO HAVE A TALK, DUDE. PLEASE GET YOUR LUNCH AND MEET ME IN THE TEACHER'S OFFICE." Present Mic waved, and hollered to him from the front of the line. He finger gunned, with a large spread smile, and walked backwards a few steps, before he bounced back around, then took off.

Shoto's eyes were wide, and the blood drained from his face. His palms ran cold, but his chest was hot with embarrassment. 'What happened?', was his first thought. He scanned his friend's faces, that ranged from confused to embarrassed for him, before his gaze fell on Izuku. 'I don't think we've shown any PDA.'

Shoto's eyes said it all: Unease. Izuku had thought he'd looked eerily calm, until they made eye contact. He looked to Izuku, as if he was the one thing that brought him comfort. "Next." Lunch-Rush called their group up, and they hurriedly gathered the food they wanted. Shoto dragged his feet and let their friends go ahead of him. Izuku waited for him, worriedly, until he was through the line.

"You should enjoy your lunch Midoriya. Don't worry about me."

"I can't promise that." Izuku looked down at his tray. "I hope I can see you before lunch is over… but if not, I'll be waiting for you in Home Ec." He brought a small grin up, to cheer Shoto on.

"I'd like that." Shoto closed his eyes tenderly, for a moment, in a way that resembled a smile; it was the closest he'd usually permit himself in public. He then lifted one side of his mouth up, to smile boldly for Izuku. He deserved special treatment from his boyfriend. With that, he bowed respectfully and left to meet Present Mic.

The hallways were empty, as Shoto made his way upstairs and past their homeroom. The only door with a light on was the teacher's office. He knocked.

"YOOOOOOO! COME IN!"

Hesitantly, Shoto walked through, and turned to close the door behind him.

"HAVE A SEAT! Feel free to eat your lunch" Present Mic pointed to the seat in front of his desk. His voice sounded excited, but as he took his glasses off, he really just looked tired. Shoto complied, before Mic started again, "DO YOU KNOW WHY I CALLED YOU IN HERE TODOROKI SAN?"

"I do not, Yamada Sensei." He took a bite from his food.

"ERASER HEAD'S WITH YOUR CLASSMATES KIRISHIMA SAN, AND BAKUGO SAN, so he asked me to talk to you…YOU WENT OUTSIDE PAST CURFEW, YO!"

Shoto had, almost, completely forgotten about that. He swelled a bite, hard. While they let running between dorms slide, they were very strict about going outside, after hours. He began to twist his jacket hem between his fingers. 'Honesty is the best policy…' he tried to build himself up. "I did." He looked up to Present Mic's eyes, for his admission.

"WHY'D YOU DO IT, SEITO?!", Mic earnestly looked like he wanted a reason to defend him.

"I don't have a good reason." Shoto clenched his fingers around the fabric of his pants, and looked down, upset with his actions. "What I did was selfish. I was morose. I calm myself down with walks, and it was the first thing I thought of. I apologize for my going. Any punishment you assign me, is deserved."

Mic nodded his head, in understanding. "Eraser Head is going to assign you each extra training for four days this week. Only under the promise that it won't happen again." He rubbed the back of his neck, obviously unsure what to say after delivering the bad news. Shoto ate some more, during the lull of conversation. "You know, if you're going through something, you can talk to any of us. We all get upset sometimes, and even if we can't fix it, we can give you advice." His voice was lowered and was, surprisingly, caring. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Shoto looked up. "Thank You." He sighed, tempted to share his past woes, before he wistfully looked to the corner of the office. There were only a few bites left of his lunch left. "I took care of it. I won't be an issue again."

Yamada Sensei seemed to think about something for a moment, before he smiled and slid his glasses back on. "OKAY!", he enunciated in english. "YOU GO ENJOY THE REST OF YOUR LUNCH. DON'T FORGET TO BE IN THE GYM AFTER YOUR LAST CLASS, TODAY!"

Both of them stood up, and bowed respectfully. Shoto booked it, picking at his crumbs of food left, on the way back to the cafeteria. He texted the "DekuSquad" chat, 'Did you go outside?'

Within a few seconds, he got a response from Izuku, 'No. We're inside (^_^)'. Uraraka texted, 'We couldn't go outside without you!'. Asui chimed in, 'We're by the main stairs. *Kero*' He didn't expect a text from Iida, because he left his cellphone in his bag while he ate.

On the turn before the stairwell, Todoroki saw Kirishima heading towards him. "Hey!" Kiri rubbed his head, and put one hand on his hip. "So I guess we'll all be seeing each other a lot this week." His hands dropped to meet in front of him. "Aizawa Sensei said Mic talked to you, but he asked me to come and get you for something else, real quick. Sorry… We just walked with him back to the teacher's lounge, so he'll be there." Kirishima hadn't looked Shoto in the eyes at all. His mind was elsewhere.

"Oh. Ok. Thank You Kirishima." He bowed and began to walk back, then abruptly stopped. Shoto turned his head over his shoulder. "I look forward to seeing you and Bakugo", he admitted, then continued back to the office.

Upon arriving, the door was wide open. He could hear Aizawa Sensei and Yamada Sensei talking about young love, and then Yamada Sensei giggling the loudest he'd ever heard. 'Please be talking about Kirishima and Bakugo', Shoto prayed. He knocked three times against the frame.

"Come in Todoroki San." Aizawa Sensei waved him in.

"WELCOME BACK, DAWG!", Present Mic greeted him too loudly, and threw down a peace sign.

"Thank You." Shoto sat in from of Present Mic's desk again.

"Let's get straight to the matter at hand: I've learned that you're in a romantic relationship.", his homeroom teacher made sure not to name any name's, for privacy's sake, "While much gossip in the class is up for debate, I've seen you both becoming closer over the past few days."

He put on the most straight face he could muster, and responded evenly, "Yes."

Aizawa Sensei nodded at the verification. "We don't want to hinder your relationship in any way; we just wanted to remind you that school needs to be your top priority." He picked a paper up, off of Yamada Sensei's desk, and read through it. He paraphrased, "Prophylactics are at the clinic, and there's to be no romantic contact outside of the dorms." He scratched at his stubble. "I know Mic told you about curfew already, as well. Do you have any questions?"

With a negatory shake from Shoto, the ever tired teacher gave him a pamphlet on Sex. All different kinds of sex. Shoto shoved the accursed object into his bag as hastily as possible.

"LUNCH'S ALMOST OVER. DID YOU GET TO FINISH EATING?", Present Mic inquired.

"Yes." Shoto was too embarrassed to look from his bag.

After a long, awkward pause, Eraser continued,"We'll take your tray. While there's some time, would you mind running this to Midoriya San? You'll still have time to make it to class." he asked of him, unapologetically. Shoto bowed before he left.

With great chagrin, the hot and cold hero speed-walked through the halls, and ran down the stairwell, two steps at a time. Turning into the cafeteria, he crashed into Jiro and Yaoyorozu, knocking over their books and bags. "Shit. I'm very sorry."

Jiro quirked up an eyebrow in surprise, mouth agape. Yaoyorozu gasped, "Todoroki Kun, is everything alright? I don't believe I've ever heard you swear." The girls had fallen softly on their knees. Jiro got up, before Todoroki could, and held out her hand, to help up her best friend.

Shoto had landed flat on his back. He tried to push back any flustered feelings, as he moved to his feet. Heated blush crept through his purposeful layer of ice, on his face. "Yes. I just talked with Aizawa Sensei…and I must run an errand before class.", he explained. Shoto shot up, and grabbed his belongings quickly. Yaoyorozu felt clever, automatically understanding his true intentions. He wanted to see Midoriya before class.

Knowing him and Yaoyorozu were close friends, Jiro wanted to make sure she was on Shoto's good side. "Did you get to eat?"

"Yes. Thank You." Some frustration was evident by his sharp, quick reply. Shoto looked down, and was ashamed by his tone. Guilt quelled his voice to a regretful, slower pace. "I apologize for my haste; Did I hurt either of you?."

"Nope." Jiro smiled.

Sensing his discomfort and eagerness to leave, Yaoyorozu bowed. "Thank you for the apology. We are perfectly fine." She waved, then smirked and tilted her head charmingly. "We'll see you and Midoriya Kun in class." Jiro bowed her head as well, before being led away by Yaoyorozu.

Footsteps came up behind Shoto. He didn't have a moment of downtime. "Todoroki Kun, are you alright?" Izuku grabbed his jacket sleeve, to get his attention.

"I am now.", he whispered, just for Izuku.

"What happened?" His worry was clearly expressed.

"I think it's better if I tell you later." Shoto ran his free hand through his hair. As the words escaped his lips, he remembered his punishment. "Actually, it will have to be later this evening. I have extra training after class, for the next four days." He looked over Izuku's head, frustrated.

"Oh. Are you in trouble for something?" Izuku wasn't sure what was going on, but he wanted to be in the know.

"I… I was asked to give you this note.", he remembered. Shoto reached for his bag, and noticed a guitar charm on it. In fact, it didn't look like his bag at all. "Oh no."

Izuku could almost see the spirit leaving Shoto's body. "What note? Is it bad?"

"Aizawa Sensei wants to see you.", was barely heard. Shoto began to run back the way he had come. He didn't care that running wasn't allowed.

"Where are you going?" Izuku began to chase after him.

"Jiro Chan has my bag!"


	10. Chapter 10

He was out of time to find Jiro. His search had been completely fruitless. Shoto knew he'd see her in Home Economics, but that wasn't fast enough for him; the longer he waited, the higher chance she would open his bag. He stalked off to their next course, and plopped down in his seat unsettled.

Shoto's anxiety rose as more, and more, of his classmates arrived. Jiro still wasn't there yet. He and Iida were the first ones seated. The rest of the students came in small groups, until only Jiro, Yaoyorozu, Midoriya, Kirishima, and Bakugo were missing. He watched the door, and let his mind wander to what Aizawa Sensei had talked to him about. It was a really serious step. 'We haven't even gone past making out. It seems so distant.' His clenched at his heart.

Izuku, who'd gone to see Aizawa Sensei before class, suddenly crept in through the door. He didn't look up from his feet as he quietly made his way to his desk. Uraraka and Asui noticed his strange behavior, and approached him. Within a minute into their conversation, Izuku threw his hands to his scarlet red face, in hiding. He squeeked out some sort of apology, and pressed his hot forehead to his desk. Uraraka looked to Asui, concerned, and then back to Izuku. His face turned to the side so he could look to Shoto. As soon as their gazes met, Izuku abashedly pressed his face back into his desk, now breathing heavily.

Asui followed Izuku's gaze back to Shoto, and beelined to him. "Todoroki Kun, do you know what's wrong with Midoriya Kun? He's acting so weird."

Uraraka followed suit, and joined the conversation. "Did something happen after lunch?"

He could only guess that it was whatever his meeting with Eraser Head was about, which was probably similar to the one he'd received. Before Shoto could answer vaguely, out of his peripherals, he saw Yaoyorozu and Jiro enter the doorway. He shot out of his seat, and apologized, "One moment please. I'm sorry. I'll be right back." The words were so rushed out, they hardly registered to the girls. With as cool a facade as he could force, Shoto strode up to Jiro.

"Excuse me, Jiro Chan, I believe I grabbed your bag by accident." He held up the charm on the bag strap.

"Oh. Thanks! I didn't even noticed." Jiro began to unzip his bag.

Shoto's hand reached up, instinctively. Yaoyorozu noticed Shoto's eyes widen, in horror. "Jiro, did you put your phone in there?" She tried to explain her friend's actions with an innocent question.

"Yeah." Jiro smiled quickly, and then looked down at the bag.

"I can get it for you, if you'd like?" Shoto wanted the floor to suck him into it, and cut off his oxygen.

"It's ok, I've got it." She opened the sides further. Shoto deduced that it fell to the bottom. He opened his mouth, to talk her out of it, but no words came through.

Yaoyorozu saw his helpless expression. "Todoroki Kun are you alright?"

Both Jiro then Todoroki stiffened, one after the other. Jiro looked up to Shoto's steaming hand, and started to pull her phone out with the pamphlet caught on top of it.

Yaoyorozu saw the top title, and immediately pushed Jiro's hand back into the bag. She promptly slid off the paper, and handed the the device to Jiro. "Hah. hah. Well. Yeah. Sorry about that." Jiro tried to lighten the mood.

Shoto, completely silent, looked Jiro in the eyes. His eyes looked soulless and dead. He held her bag out to her.

Jiro took hers and gave Shoto his, simultaneously. "Thanks for catching that."

With a nod, Shoto hurried back to his desk. He had forgotten that Uraraka and Asui were waiting on him. They stared at him, expectantly, unintentionally blocking off his desk. Shoto began to sweat, and steam from his left arm. Uraraka saw it, and grabbed Asui's hand to led her back to their desks. Kirishima and Bakugo ran into the classroom.

Bang! Sensei slid the door open to begin class.

Home Ec, English, and Math seemingly flew by. Shoto was hunched over, emotionally drained. He had already gathered his up his notes and pencil, during the end of Math, so he was one of the first students to rise from his seat with their last class' dismissal.

The tired young man approached Izuku's desk. They need to clear the air."Did you have plans for dinner tonight? Later tonight?"

Izuku looked up, surprised. Sex had been the only thing on his mind since the end of lunch, and there was his boyfriend, gazing down at him with such intensity. He didn't remember what Shoto had just said to him. "Uh… yes?"

Sensing his hesitance, Shoto crouch down to whisper, "I understand if you're tired. Can I see you before lights off tonight, then?"

Vermilion colored Izuku's cheeks. "Oh. Uh. I - I … What for?" His arms came up over the top of his head, so only his nose and mouth were showing.

"To see you." Shoto lowered his voice further, with Tokoyami passing them by. He looked behind him, to watch their friend leave. Then he turned his gaze back. "To talk… Both."

"Ok.", Deku muttered in a small, high voice.

"I have to go to training. I'll text you." Without any movement on Izuku's part, Shoto bowed and left for the Gym. 'Now Izuku won't even look at me.' He sighed, and entertained the worst possibilities of tonight's talk.

In the locker room, he changed quickly, to distract himself. 'Is Izuku having second thoughts?' Now that he thought about it, they had only been together a day. Though they'd become increasingly closer, since the Sports Festival, it was only friendship until now. He didn't even know how deeply Izuku's feelings ran. He'd said he liked him, but that could have meant anything. He hadn't even properly asked him out. It _so_ was obvious, though, he was head over heels, to everyone else. He shook his head to clear out his thoughts. He needed to serve out his extra training.

Shoto walked out to the main part of the Gym. Kirishima easily spotted and jogged over to his friend. "Hey Bro!"

"Hello." Shoto returned, with a wave. His face was in it's trained, emotionless state.

"Hey FUCKERS!" Bakugo ran up behind them.

Before they could further their conversations, Ishiyama Sensei rode his cement in, from the back doors. He straightened the floor back out, and then pointed to each student, checking them off of a list. "Good Evening. All of you are here? Good." He smiled, genuinely.

Each of the students turned, and respectfully bowed. "Hello." Cementoss bowed in return, and then instructed them to stretch. After about ten minutes of stretching, he had them run laps around the perimeter of the Gym.

Lap one thru five didn't tire them at all. Lap seven had them begin to sweat. Lap eight labored their breathing. Kirishima lost count. "When are we fighting?!" Bakugo shouted, complaining and panting, after a ninth lap.

"Hn. We may change it up." Cementoss rubbed his chin in thought. "Yes."

As the men stopped, their Sensei explained, "You'll take a moment to relax. Then you'll spar one on one, for fifteen minutes each. The third person will practice strength training, until you switch." He decided, "Bakugo and Kirishima can go against each other, first."

Ishiyama Sensei brought over some weighted leg braces, and dumbbells for Shoto to choose from.

After what felt like no time, Shoto heard a loud rumbling of Cement, and then Bakugo yelling for a continuation. Cementoss switched Bakugo out with Todoroki. "BEGIN!"

Kirishima, already worn down, was no match for Shoto. Though he repeatedly burst through the thin ice walls thrown at him, his body became worn. "Kyyyaaah!" Kiri fell to his hands after an ice ball hit against his hardened stomach. Bakugo ran towards them both, immediately, at the yell. "I'm ok, Katsuki.", Kirishima tried to wave his boyfriend off.

"Oi! Cementoss, it's our turn!" Bakugo stared at Kirishima with worry. A look of competitiveness was turned to Shoto.

"Ok." He agreed. Kirishima left towards the weights. There was no convincing Bakugo against a fight.

Bakugo took Shoto and his' training a little further from his boyfriend. "Are you ready to DIE half and half bastard?!" With no time after his threat,blast after blast hit against an ice wall Shoto erected. Bakugo hurled and twisted himself in the air, over the top. An explosion hit Shoto in the back. "Hnn!" He flew forward, but caught himself with a slippery ramp up. Shoto used large flurries to distract Bakugo, and then used ice crystals to push him the opposite direction.

The explosion king only grew more frustrated. He propelled himself forward with many small scale bursts, until he was above Shoto, in a second. "What's your problem? Where's your head?!" Shoto realized he was only fighting defensively. He needed to turn up his offense.

After what felt like an eternity, they were at a draw. Cementoss put a wall between them. "I'm not finished!" Bakugo screamed over the obstruction. Shoto couldn't take another hit. He felt bruised all over. He was dizzy from such rapid breaths. "Oi!" Bakugo yelled at him.

He refused to let Bakugo know he'd almost gotten him. "Tomorrow."

"Your extra training for the day is over. You can go eat." Cementoss smiled, and held a thumb up.

"Yay!" Kirishima jogged over to Bakugo and Todoroki, as the obstruction between them lowered. "You guys were incredible!", he complimented.

"Whatever, Shitty Hair." Bakugo walked right up to Shoto, and poked him hard in the chest. "Tomorrow, you better man up."

The 'trouble kids' got changed, and headed back to the dorms. "How are things with Midoriya Kun?" Kirishima casually brought up.

"It's been one day." Shoto stared at the sidewalk.

"I knew after one day that I was in love with Bakugo." Kirishima bragged and turned to wink at his love. Bakugo looked like he was going to burst at the seems, but restrained himself.

Shoto side-eyed the red haired hero. "I already know that I -", he caught himself and looked down quickly. He iced his cheeks over. Kirishima had gotten him to admit it.

Bakugo caught up to Shoto, and gave him a serious look. "Does he know?"

"What?!" The ice melted off instantly.

"You should tell him!" Kirishima looked like if he had a tail, it'd be wagging.

"I can't. We just…" The three entered the common room.

"YO!" Kaminari burst into the group of them, and rushed up Kirishima. He started telling both his squad members about an episode of Takeshi's Castle they'd missed, and Shoto snuck off.

He walked to Izuku's room and knocked. "Midoriya Kun?", he called.

He knocked again, and there was no answer. 'Damn.' Shoto began to walk away, dispirited, until the door creaked. He looked back saw it was cracked open.

"Shoto", Izuku whispered out. "Come in." He reached for his boyfriend's hand, and led him to his bed.

"Izuku, we need to t-…"

"I know… But can't we rest first, and talk about it in the morning?" It was only 17:30. But he was, also, exhausted.

"Yeah" They both sat down, on the edge of the bed. Shoto kissed the back of Izuku's hand, that was still in his own.

Shoto's green haired angel climbed into the sheets, and made room for him to lay with him. Izuku cradled his sweetheart's head on his chest, and kissed the top of it, tenderly." Thank You."


	11. Chapter 11

A small fire lit a black room. It swirled and flickered to the tempo of a fluttering hummingbird. Soft, faint, wings could be heard dancing about the open space. As the beating wings slowed, however, the noise became louder. Slow, pulse-like thuds echoed off the walls. The sounds came from the fire, growing ever wilder. Bright. Untamed. Massive. The music-like beat reverberated back to the center. Shoto reached a calming hand to it, expecting to feel the heat before anything else, but didn't; Not even as his hand passed through the wisps of flame. It was as warm as sunbathing in the schoolyard. As warm as laughing with a friend. As warm as a kiss.

He peeked a single eye open, and looked at the scarred fingers between his own. They were warm, and comforting. Two thumbs rubbed soothing small circles into his skin. "Are you awake?", he asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah. It's hard to sleep, when you're right here." Izuku smiled, nervously, and looked up to the ceiling.

"But we've slept next to each other before…"

"Well that was before -"

Shoto sat up, leaning against where the bed met the wall, and brought Izuku's hand to rest on his leg. He brought his free hand over, to run a caring caress through green, wild hair. "Before Aizawa-Sensei brought it up." He knew the Izuku would know what 'it' was.

"Yeah." The air was charged with sexual tension.

The rough hands that encircled his own retreated, moving to hide Izuku's face. "It's ok to be embarrassed. I was - am too. I hadn't expected the talk, either."

Izuku nodded, to show that he'd heard Shoto.

"It doesn't have to change anything."

Green emerald eyes burned bright, between the shadowy finger gaps in front of Izuku's face. "It doesn't?"

"No", Shoto smiled. He laid back down, and rested head on top of Izuku's shoulder. "I like you, just as you are." He blushed, and fixated his gaze on the ceiling, stifling a sigh. Torn between confessing his hormonal wants and the need to preserve Izuku's innocent thoughts, Shoto leaned his head to the side, to think of how to phrase his thoughts. " I don't want us to change a thing; it's early…"

Izuku moved so quickly, that Shoto's brain didn't have a chance to catch up. Within a second, he was tucked under Izuku's trembling chin, and pressed close to his body, in an embrace. "I like you too! Just the way you are! You're so kind, and thoughtful. You're wonderful!"

Shoto wrapped his arms around Izuku, and just held him. This was the longest embrace he'd ever had. Admittedly, he hadn't had many, but this was the nicest one. It was filled to the brim with some emotion he was just beginning to grasp. It was slow, and fragile, but it felt like it was stronger, in moments like these.

" I think the world of you. You're incredible." Izuku thanked him with a kiss to the top of his head. "Let's just take our time. And when we're ready, we'll know where to- ."

Izuku initiated a kiss that started as firm, and gradually grew more passionate. "Whenever we're ready?" His eyes were half-lidded.

Poor Shoto had to look away. It didn't feel like a question. It sounded like he was asking Shoto to make a promise. 'That can't be right.' Unable to form the proper words, he nodded.

They held each other for a little while longer, just enjoying their closeness.

"Sho - Are you hungry?" 'Sho' was new, but nice. And, thankfully, the tension had cleared.

"Yeah?"

"Let's eat." The clock on Izuku's nightstand read '19:13'. Confident, strong hands reached for Shoto's, to help pull him up, then out, of bed.

Before leaving, hand in hand, Izuku popped his head out of his door to make sure the hallway was clear. After an "OK", they ran down the stairs, giggling just for the sake of it. They felt so comfortable. Carefree. Close. Shoto leaned against the wall, at the bottom of the staircase, and brought Izuku forward to kiss his forehead. Izuku's musical laugh widened Shoto's smile.

Not as cautiously as Izuku, Shoto popped his head around the corner, and found many of their classmates piled together in the common room. He leaned his forehead against Izuku's once more before taking off, ahead of him.

"Todoroki-Kun? Smiling?" Uraraka greeted, from the couch, a large smiled plastered across her face. Tsuyu, Ashido, Sero, and Kaminari looked over, as well.

Ashido put the back of her hand to her forehead, and feigned swooning. "So handsome."

"Ah man, I'm so jealous. You even look mysterious smiling." Kaminari brought a hand to his chin, contemplatively. "Todoroki-Kun, the Lady Killer." He brought his hands up to frame the title, above the 'lady-killer's' head.

Sero laughed heartily. "I don't know, dude…"

Izuku, coming up behind his handsome man, stifled a laugh.

The rest of the evening felt easy. Fun. Their friends around the table were all laughing, and sharing stories. It was so different from just a few hours earlier. Even when he was stressed out, Izuku could take any dark mood, and turn it around. He sighed, contentedly. Without thinking, he announced, "This is nice."

All eyes fixed on him, and everyone smiled. "So cute", Ashido laughed.

When Izuku, and Shoto left, to go to sleep, it had already been dark for many hours. The party animals, downstairs, intended to stay up past midnight.

"Would you want to sleepover, in my room, tonight?" Shoto reached for Izuku's hand, in the elevator.

"I'd love nothing more." Izuku approved, with a radiant grin.

Shoto's alarm was turned down, so he'd almost slept through it. With great annoyance, and relief, he pulled his phone up to his bleary eyes, on the last "I am Here!" A harsh swipe turned his 'Wake up' alarm off. The room light was still on. Shoto skipped his phone across his floor, and stretched out his legs, until his whole body quivered. Then, he reached his arms above his head to stretch further. He yawned, turned his head to the side, then almost choked.

Beautiful Izuku looked like a sleeping angel: divine, innocent, gorgeous. His mouth was slightly parted. Green eyelashes pulled Shoto in, like venus flytraps luring in prey. Tempting. Enticing. 'What is that face?' He started sweating, in all the bad, hormonal, ways…He had to wake him up.

"Izu", he whispered, mouth hovering just above Izuku's ear. "Izu, we need to get ready."

Sharp air rushed into Izuku's lungs, and he brought his arms above his head. His shirt pulled up, revealing his toned abs. "What time is it?" A corner of his mouth tugged into a sleepy lop-sided smile.

Taking a moment of reprieve from eyeing a visual Adonis, Shoto crawled on the ground over to his phone. His eyes bulged, when he realized that the alarm had been his Snooze alarm. He released a single dry and dark laugh of air. "Seven Fifty."

Instantaneously, Izuku ran out of the room, eyes wide, smoke trailing behind him. If Shoto's eyes hadn't have been open, he'd have just seen the sudden darkness from the hall. "Dammit." He quickly took a sink bath, and rushed through his morning routine. Though it may have been breaking a couple of rules, he used his ice to propel him to class.

"Midoriya-Kun. I expect more of you! No running in the halls." Shoto heard Iida-Kun reprimand Izuku, quite a way up the hallway. Having been running up to that point, he slowed when he thought Iida-Kun could see him.

"Good morning", Sho greeted, slipping past the door monitor.

Though the couple hadn't had time to see one another on their walk over, they eyed each other longingly across the room, one minute before class was scheduled. Bakugo shook his head in disapproval, at their almost tardiness, then shook his head, more so, at their roving eyes.

Yamada-sensei finger-gunned his way into class as the clock hands struck 8:25. "YO!"

English led to Math 1. Math 1 led to Computer Tech. And that led to both of their favorite class: Hero Lessons. Today's lesson was over how to exit a building that was falling apart. More specifically, how to exit a building that was falling apart, with a citizen. Murmurings of a 'surprise' in each practice were, also, traveling the halls. 2-A always thought it was hilarious to rile the freshman up.

1-A met outside the gym, in hero uniforms, to pair off. Izuku and Shoto quickly gravitated toward each other. Before the pairs left to their different training buildings, as a whole class, they were instructed how to: handle debris, hazardous elements, and reach an exit, without injury. The 'citizen's' well being would be the day's grade. "Easy-grade", Aizawa-Sensei had claimed. With ErasureHead as the 'hero', and muscular All Might as the 'civilian', the students watched how the situation went down.

"ErasureHead's gotta be strong", was whispered throughout the class. "How can he even lift All Might?" "Do we need to hold each other like that?" "Can I hold a girl like that?" "What if -"

Aizawa-Sensei carried All Might down a whole flight of stairs, with chunks of a corporate office raining all around him. He seemingly flew through the air. And when All Might said he couldn't move any longer, he was wrapped in the 'hero's' tape delicately, lifted chest level. ErasureHead was agile, and the task seemed effortless. All Might was quite flattered, once on the ground, outside the building. He praised Aizawa. "He's just like a maiden!", Uraraka whispered to Iida-Kun.

Every student was pumped! They were ready to go beyond! Each group was given a different building, and different hazard, based on their quirks. Izuku and Shoto were given a worn down, dry, factory building. It was completely lined in wood, then metal. "Too much strength would knock the walls down. Too much heat could endanger the 'citizen', and burn the building, " Izuku mumbled. "Perhaps Ice is the best route?" he stroked his chin thoughtfully.

The students separated towards their own fates. Shoto and Izuku strode toward the farthest building to the left. "You can be the hero first" Izuku offered. It caught Shoto a bit off guard, but he agreed.

Izuku rubbed the back of his neck, blushing. He was a little nervous, admitting, "I want to take more notes on how you use your quirk…"

Shoto smiled, wide. "I'm honored."

Both young heroes ran to the middle of the building, on the top floor, and awaited their timer. As soon as the tell-tale "3-2-1-Beep-Beep" echoed through the floors, they took off.

BOOM! There was a loud, resounding, crash from outside. "It's probably another team." A small tremble passed through the building. The first step was to assess the damage, and make sure the 'civilian' was uninjured. There, surprisingly, wasn't much property damage. Izuku was healthy as ever…All of the windows were barred off. Elevators were a no-go.

The second step was to search for an exit point. They quickly decided to use the same stairwell they entered the building with.

BOOM! "That one sounded close." Izuku snapped his eyes from the roof above them, to Shoto.

Shoto grabbed him, and made a thick ice-shield above them. Debris fell from the roof, and while small impacts were felt, nothing permeated his ice. He used more ice to slide down the hall, towards the stairwell, Izuku in his arms.

Smoke flowed like water and filled the small corridor, reducing Shoto and Izuku's vision and breaths. Something small, but aerodynamic and loud sped past Shoto's ear, and thunked into the wall in front of him. The emergency exit door was right in front of him. "Is that a -" Another few chunks of metal landed in front of Shoto's feet, blocking off his path. A figure, in a mask, stepped out from the smoke. "Snipe", Izuku whispered.

Above all of the rules, KEEP THE CIVILIAN SAFE, was the top priority.


End file.
